


Runaway

by Geek_and_Nina



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: A Christmas present!!, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geek_and_Nina/pseuds/Geek_and_Nina
Summary: Due to extenuating circumstances that include pseudo-fratricide, Josie and Hope take off into the forest beyond Salvatore School
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 35
Kudos: 222





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Geeky_MikaBoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geeky_MikaBoo/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Mika!!!

He just wouldn’t stop coming. Hope dodged, she blocked, but she couldn’t bring herself to hit Alaric back. She knew this wasn’t his doing. She knew if she dropped her guard, she was dead. Josie was behind her and Josie was who whatever had possessed Alaric wanted. Hope was never going to let that happen.

“Ric. She’s your daughter. You have to stop. You’re going to hurt me and you’re going to hurt her. You know I can’t let you do that.” Hope pleaded, backing down the hallway, being sure to keep her body between Alaric and Josie. She met his eyes as he attempted to wrangle her arm behind her into a grapple. Her tribrid strength was much greater than his. Hazel eyes seemed to give her the permission she needed but didn’t want. Hope remembered seeing her father do this before, and it felt harder than it had seemed.

Forcing Alaric back a few steps, her hand plunged into his chest, emerging with his heart in her hand. He slumped to the floor with a sick thud and Hope could hear Josie’s choked gasp. The heart slipped from her fingers as she felt a cold rush flood through her body, her mind emptying into a swirl of panic.

“Hope… we need to go now. Before someone finds you. We have to get out of school. You can’t be seen like this.” Josie was the first to speak after several long silent and tense moments. She quickly pulled off her cardigan and began wiping the blood off of Hope’s hand as best she could. The older girl’s eyes were devoid of any kind of emotion or thought when Josie tried to look into them. If her vampire side were activated Josie might have thought she turned off her humanity. She laced her fingers through Hope’s and began to pull her down the hall, sweater discarded onto the floor behind them.

Hope seemed to jar back into reality once they broke out into the crisp autumn air. “I have a stash of clothes and emergency equipment out in the back woods, a couple of miles beyond the Old Mill. We’ll move faster if I shift and you hang onto my back.” she seemed reticent in her words and body language, but still clung to Josie’s hand like it was a lifeline, not meeting Josie’s eyes.

“That’s smart.” Josie nodded her ascent, grief not yet real to her but her hopes alive Lizzie might realize what had actually happened and make sure she and Hope would be able to return sooner rather than later. 

Hope finally released her grip on Josie and turned her back to the other girl, quickly shedding her clothes and pressing them into her arms. “For later.” she wasn’t sheepish anymore, having shifted in front of others until the actions felt more natural to Hope than to other non-werewolves around her. 

She seemed to melt towards the ground, limbs elongating and spine contorting in grotesque manners as Josie watched, flinching away slightly until Hope rose again, covered in fur. She was completely changed, down to the glowing yellow eyes. The wolf approached and gently nudged at Josie’s hand with her muzzle until she brushed up and over the grey, soft ears. Josie scratched gently until the Hope-wolf knelt slightly so Josie could climb onto her back. The wolf seemed a little bigger than Josie remembered having seen before. She wondered if it were because Josie had been watching from afar the last time or if it were that Hope had just grown into the long lanky limbs she’d sported as a pup. Still, the wolf took her weight easily and began to trot into the forest, slowly picking up speed until she was running at almost a full tilt.

The wind whipped at Josie’s hair as she pinned Hope’s clothing under her stomach between her body and the fur-covered back. Her hands wrapped around the wolf’s throat, not constricting but certainly holding on for dear life. Under different circumstances, she wondered if this might be kind of fun as the rushing air brought pricks of tears to her eyes. Josie didn’t fight it, momentarily allowing herself to cry for her father, for herself and her sister, and Hope. She knew Hope hadn’t wanted to kill Alaric, she knew her father hadn’t actually wanted to kill her, but she also knew there had been no other options as virulently as she tried to find one. Josie buried her face in warm grey fur, and let it all go.

\------/////------

Hope slowed and began to sniff at the ground in a section of the forest behind the Salvatore School Josie didn’t recognize. The wolf’s movements were slow and stiff until her ears pricked up and she padded over to a chest at the base of a tree. Hope lowered to the ground again and Josie took it as her queue to slide off of her back. She stretched her arms and legs as the fur retracted and a human girl stood up from where the wolf had once been. Josie jumped and turned her back, suddenly remembering Hope’s nudity.

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, Jo.” Hope scoffed and Josie felt like she could hear the other girl rolling her eyes. “You can turn back around, I’m decent.”

Hope was in front of the chest and instead of opening it with a key, pricked her finger with a hidden needle and allowed a drop of her blood to fall into the opening of the padlock, in exchange it glowed and sprung open.

“A gift from one of my aunts in New Orleans.” Hope explained and tucked the lock into her pocket before pulling bags out of the chest. “My Uncle Kol hoards magical objects, his wife let me hold onto this in case Ric started getting nosy.

Hope’s voice was sad and Josie could only guess at which of the multitude of possible reasons were behind it. She began to pull out bags; one containing a tent, a duffel, and a matching set of all-weather backpacks. One of the backpacks was tossed to Josie as Hope bound the tent to the top of her own with bungees. Questions continued to haunt Josie’s mind, but she was glad Hope had this kind of forethought at all. She seriously doubted anyone else in the school would ever be this prepared to have to run.

“This is awful and I am sad and I am angry… but I’m glad to have you with me,” Hope said after they had been walking for a while. “You didn’t have to come. They might have blamed me and only me if you hadn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong, Josie.”

“You don’t know that. Whatever had taken over, Dad, it might have jumped into the next passing person and come after me again. We don’t know that… that _killing_ him... killed it. They probably would have thought the thing possessed me as well.” Josie said, forcing the words out after some thought and a hard swallow. She honestly didn’t know why she had dragged Hope out of the school and then continued with her beyond how right it had felt. Maybe it was the adrenaline of the moment or the nearly unbearable thought of sending Hope into the woods alone that had driven her along. “Besides, you have had to deal with enough shit by yourself. After Malivore, I just really don’t ever want you to feel alone in that way again.”

Hope didn’t respond. She just reached out and took Josie’s hand in her own again. After a moment she spoke again in a smaller voice. 

“If the bag starts to get too heavy, let me know.”


	2. Chapter 2

Once Hope felt she had rested enough, she shifted again and ran for a while longer, having Josie use the burner phone to lead them through the forest towards Mystic Falls proper. It wasn’t long before Josie could tell that the Hope-wolf was getting tired again and with a few sniffles and snuffles of wolfish protest, slid off of her back to resume walking, tossing clothes over her shoulder in a teasing manner Hope wasn’t quite used to. Dusk began to fall soon after, and Hope suggested they call the hike quits and set up camp.

The tribrid seemed steady and sure as she set up the tent and instructed Josie in assisting her. Her expression was tense and somewhat pained, but there was no trace of fear or anxiety. Josie felt maybe now would be as good a time as any to ask a few of the questions that had begun to bother her.

“Hope… why did you have all of this stuff packed and out in the woods? Were you expecting something like this to happen?”

“I wasn’t expecting something like this exactly, I was just expecting _something_. Trouble seems intent on finding me. I don’t know if it’s because of my family, because I’m not supposed to exist, or if I am being punished for something I have done, but I knew something would eventually happen that meant I had to run. Maybe it was inevitable.” Hope spoke tiredly, her expression telling Josie that she believed every word she had said.

“You don’t think you deserve to be happy?” Josie asked, forgoing her other questions for the time being.

“I don’t think it matters to the world or the universe, or the spirits what I actually _deserve_. My mere existence throws the world out of balance. My happiness just isn’t relevant.” Hope finished planting the last stake and tossed two sleeping bags into the tent as Josie placed a silver thread around their campsite and Hope spoke a word that made bells tinkle in both of their ears. “An ancient alarm spell. A gift from Aunt Freya this time.” she explained and climbed into the tent. 

All was quiet for a while, both young women lost in deep thought. Owls hooted quietly and trees whispered with the breeze, ambient forest sounds filling their silence. Josie wondered if Lizzie was worried about her if her sister knew deep down that she was alright or if she thought Josie had been taken by whatever force killed their father. Josie wondered if Hope was a suspect in Alaric’s killing or if they rightly knew that the two had run away for Josie’s protection. She wondered what Hope was thinking about.

“I’m sorry, Jo.” Hope said quietly her voice was barely audible, as it finally broke the silence and the tension. They laid beside one another, Josie refusing to admit that she was beginning to get cold and Hope refusing to allow her guard to fall until now. “I hate what I did. I hate the parts of myself that allowed me to do it. I hate that you had to lose another parent.”

Josie didn’t glance over to her, not wanting to know if Hope was crying or not. The ache in her chest might explode at the sight. “I don’t blame you, Hope. You did what was necessary to protect me and that’s what he would have wanted. Even if no one finds out the truth, even if no one ever believes us, I’ll know that you were in the right. I’ll know how much it hurt you.”

“I could see it in his eyes. Behind whatever was in him. He knew what I had to do and he wanted me to kill him.” Hope confessed and climbed into her sleeping bag for the night. Josie moved to do the same but turned on her flashlight to unzip Hope’s and connect the sleeping bag to her own. She slid a little closer to Hope and looped her arm through the other girl’s, laying on her shoulder as Hope stared up at the top of the tent, imagining the stars she knew to be above them. Hope changed the subject. 

“I still have an apartment in Mystic Falls under my dad’s name. He lived there when he was borrowing Alaric’s body. That’s a long story, but it’s where I stayed while no one remembered me. No one but your dad knew about it. We’ll be safe there for long enough that I can figure out how to get us to New Orleans. Everyone will expect me to run there immediately. Hopefully, all of the confusion will buy us enough time.”

Josie murmured her assent. The more she listened and the more she thought, the more Josie didn’t like how well thought out this all was, how prepared Hope had been to leave at a moment’s notice. She was surprised by how upset and kind of angry it made her. She squeezed Hope’s arm against her body a little tighter, realizing that what really infuriated her was the idea of Hope leaving _her_ specifically. Alaric had braced his daughters for his likely untimely demise as a human living in a nearly completely supernatural society. Josie had always known he was already living on borrowed time. That didn’t stop her deep hatred of people leaving her. People always seemed to be leaving her.


	3. Chapter 3

Hope stared at the ceiling of the tent until it was time for Josie to wake up. She couldn’t stop thinking about the young woman curled around her arm and pressed tightly against her body. Hope thanked her mother’s hormones and heartbreak once again for giving her the werewolf stamina she currently sported. Hope doubted she would have made it this long in life without it. Especially now that she had Josie Saltzman in such close quarters. The guilt still felt overwhelming, and her heart still ached, but Josie was alive and sleeping peacefully next to her, and that was all she needed.

Hope extricated herself and stood, hunched over, and began to pack. When she finished it was to a sleepy-eyed Josie watching her. She smiled quietly back and sat back down next to the groggy girl. 

“Hey, how are you feeling, sweet girl?” Hope asked, offering her arm to Josie to curl into as she slowly started to warm up again. Josie curled into Hope’s shoulder and sat a bit straighter. 

“I was kind of hoping that when I woke up, everything that happened would have been a shitty dream,” Josie said in a choked voice. She leaned more heavily into Hope’s side and buried her face in Hope’s neck. “Having you here is… is not disappointing though. That part is kind of nice… really nice.”

Hope ran her hand across Josie’s arms a couple of times in an attempt to warm her up. “I have that bag of clothes, but I doubt anything will fit you very well. Maybe one of the hoodies? You can try it and see how it works… maybe like a hoodie version of a crop top.”Hope looked at Josie with an offer of a small smile, unsure of where or what they ought to do from that point on besides make their way to the apartment in Mystic Falls. 

It was a pretty bad joke but Josie found herself laughing anyway. “Honestly, I don’t think I would mind at this point… as long as it smells like you and not your wolf. Ew.” Josie didn’t pick her face up, because Hope’s natural warmth was the only thing keeping her nose from freezing off. She also just found the older girl’s presence comforting. “Don’t do anything for a while. I just want to stay here, like this. Just for a minute.”

Hope sat still for a while and allowed Josie to take any comfort she needed for as long as she needed. Once Josie sat up, Hope just continued to watch her until Josie seemed ready for the rest of their day to begin. Hope knew that it was a bit irresponsible, to not immediately get moving, but she also knew that they both needed that time together, a peaceful moment in which they could feel their feelings for a while. 

“Most everything is packed up already, so if you were ready to start moving, we just have to pack up the tent, and we could get moving again,” Hope spoke softly and moved to begin rolling up the sleeping bags.

“I can’t believe none of us ever bothered to ask how you were surviving during your time away from school. God, teenage girls are so self-obsessed… myself included. We’ll do better going forward… or we’ll try to. No promises.” Josie groaned and rubbed at her eyes, she stood and started to help Hope. She felt a bit guilty that Hope had gotten as much done without Josie as she did, but was glad of the extra hours to sleep in a bit as well.

“It wasn’t a great time in my life. Some of the worst months thus far, actually. I don’t really like to think about it, much less talk about it. You’re right, no one asked, but I didn’t mind that. I maybe would have appreciated someone caring a bit more than they did, but I was too busy attempting to figure out what my life was going to look like.” Hope admitted, removing the stakes and poles from the tent and stashing them away.

Josie helped to fold the tent, then pack it. Despite herself, Hope seemed to betray her own soreness and allowed Josie to take on one extra bag as they made the rest of their way through the forest to Mystic Falls. It wasn’t much longer, but it took some digging for Hope to find the apartment keys and grant them entrance to the hardwood and brick studio apartment. Along one wall, shelves displayed different kinds of bourbon and whiskey, bar style. with a red satin couch set beneath it. The clothes Hope had been wearing during her stay were still neatly folded on one end, a backpack set to the side.

“It’s good to see that nothing here has changed at all. Looks like my dad could have been here just yesterday. At least when I was staying here it felt like he was with me the whole time. I didn’t have anyone else for the first few weeks, so that was really important. Make yourself at home, as much as you can. Showers are down that hall and more clothes in the guest room. I’ll try to get a hold of one of my aunts and see if they can find us a way down-home.” Hope’s voice was exhausted, but she seemed determined and Josie found that reassuring.

Josie wandered her way down the halls, looking at the old black and white and sepia-toned pictures from the Salvatore, Saltzman, and Mikaelson collections that lined the walls. Her muscles felt heavy, and she could feel her skin plastered with sweat and grime from their adventures. The guest room was stocked with clothes in every style, size, and kind. It didn’t take long for Josie to find a set of sweats that would serve her well for the night to come. She could already tell that it would be very nice to feel clean and safe for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

When Josie returned from quite possibly the longest and hottest shower known to man, Hope had fallen asleep on the couch, using a set of boxing gloves from the workout equipment in the corner of the apartment as a pillow. Her auburn hair was spread across the couch cushions, her mouth dangling open as she breathed deeply and evenly. Josie laid her hand on Hope’s shoulder and spoke quietly.

“Hope, you gotta get up. If you sleep here, your back is going to kill you in the morning. Werewolf constitution or no. Don’t you want to get clean before resting?” Josie gently rustled Hope until she stirred. She took Hope’s hand and helped her to her feet, steadying her. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

Hope nodded and cupped Josie’s face for a moment, before sleepily heading on to the shower. Josie had been right, it was good to be clean, but her eyelids were heavy as she fought to stay awake. As hard as she had been fighting to put on her best and bravest face for the past couple of days, it had exhausted her. Knowing that Josie was, for the most part, safe now and that she wouldn’t have to be as worried for this night at least, set Hope at ease and she thought she might be able herself to get real and meaningful rest.

Josie had moved to stand and lean against the wall waiting for Hope to emerge, just to keep herself awake. When she did come back clean, Josie wondered if Hope might be sleep-walking. She took the other girl by the hand and led her to the guest room. Her eyebrows quirked as though this was not what she had expected. Josie wondered if maybe Hope had spent her entire time in this apartment sleeping on that hard and uncomfortable couch. That had to have been torture on par with Malivore.

Josie helped Hope into the bed and tucked her in. She slid in beside the other girl and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl’s waist, tucking her chin over Hope’s shoulder. She hoped she wasn’t overstepping, but felt as though neither she nor Hope would have wanted to spend the night alone. Plus, having Hope alongside her always made Josie feel considerably safer. There were strength and goodness in the tribrid, the young woman who had saved Josie and her friends so many times before.

Surrounded by the scent of Hope’s shampoo and the musty scent of the unused apartment, Josie found herself drifting quietly to sleep.

\-----/////-----

Hope grabbed her hand and laughed aloud, running through the forest and tugging Josie along. She raced to keep up but was always just a few steps behind. Just as she was beginning to grow frustrated, Hope stopped and took each of her hands again. She pulled Josie into a frantic and fun dance. There was no music, but Josie could feel the bass drum beat in her chest and could keep time. 

As the music sped up, Hope drew Josie closer and closer. The beat became manic and so did their steps. Josie’s heartbeat thundered inside of her chest until she thought her ribs would shatter to pieces inside of her body. Despite the panic and anxiety, she felt Josie was enthralled, her eyes locked on Hope’s and possessed by the spirit of the dance. Though she knew she ought to be afraid, to try to escape the dance, Josie could not bring herself to leave Hope’s arms or the dance.

Just as her chest felt as though it might finally crack under the pressure, Josie felt herself startle awake. She sat up, able to feel her pulse in her face and the tips of her fingers. She gasped for breath and laid back to stare at the ceiling. Hope stirred and turned over to look at Josie. 

“Are you okay?” Hope mumbled, bleary eyes blinking up at the younger girl, there was concern in her eyes though she had yet to fully awaken, she reached slightly up towards where she thought Josie might be to check on her. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. It was just a bad dream. I’ll be fine. Just go back to sleep. We are going to need our strength for everything to come. Whatever that might be.” Josie spoke softly as she slowly laid back down. She was surprised when Hope reached back and pulled Josie’s arm back over her side, pulling her back close. Josie didn’t mind the feeling or the action and she found herself pleased. Hope had never been one to initiate affection and it was a nice change.


	5. Chapter 5

Neither girl had thought to set an alarm, so when they woke up it was around mid-afternoon. The sun shone directly into their eyes and forced them to wake. Hope stirred first, suddenly surprised by the remnants of Josie’s weight on her body. Josie’s breaths were deep and even as she slept and Hope turned under her arm. Still for the most part asleep, Josie clenched at Hope’s shirt to keep her where she was. She wiggled a bit closer until she could feel Hope’s arm beneath her head.

“We’ve overslept, Jo. Grab anything and everything you might want from here and pack it for New Orleans. As soon as we get the go-ahead from my aunts, I want us to get moving again.” Hope sat up, setting Josie up alongside her. Dark hair still splayed across Hope’s skin as Josie seemed disinclined towards waking up. The added warmth and bodyweight kept Hope from being willing to get out of bed either.

“You know, despite the circumstances, I’m a bit excited to show you around my hometown. I know that you have been before, but you didn’t get to do any of the _fun_ parts. There are the tourist traps and then there are the real parts of New Orleans that you need to see. Those are completely different versions of my city. Of the quarter. I want you to see the parts that made me into who I am.” Hope aimlessly played with a strand of Josie’s hair as she spoke. “It might be funny to see you reunite with my Aunt Freya as well.”

“I can’t be sure of how she’ll feel about seeing me again.” This seemed to get Josie’s attention, a slight startle running through her at the thought. Josie sat up slightly so she could better see Hope’s face. “That’s okay. I’m not sure of how they’ll feel about seeing me again either. It’s not as though they check in all that often, anymore.” Hope offered a sardonic smile and pulled her phone from the charger on the nightstand.

“Is that why you’re nervous to call? Because you aren’t sure of how they’ll react?” Josie asked, sliding out of the covers and pulling on a robe to keep the chill at bay. She picked up a blanket and held it up and opened it as though it were another robe. Hope acquiesced and followed Josie to the kitchen, where they began making coffee and breakfast.

“Maybe. Once I’ve done it and gotten it over with, I’ll be fine. It’s actually making myself make the call that is the real struggle.” Hope shrugged and continued to stare at the phone on the table like it was her one true nemesis.

“I’ll be with you the whole time. The Mikaelsons all love you, more than anything else. Everyone knows that. It’s going to be fine. Even if it’s not fine, we’ll be together and that means we’ll still be fine.” Josie smiled softly and gripped Hope’s arm before turning back to the eggs on the stove.

“Thanks, Josie. You always know what to say.” Hope set a mug of coffee in front of her and pressed her face against Josie’s shoulder blade. “I have never been able to understand how you do that.”

“I just tell you what I would want to hear if the roles were reversed. You’ve been there for me when things got hard. We share the burden, Hope. It’s what we do. Now, eat up. We aren’t finished yet.” Josie turned halfway, kissed Hope’s forehead, and laughed. “We have whatever fresh hell the day has planned to face.”

Hope sat down to eat, turning thoughtful. Over the course of their friendship and especially the past couple of days, she had felt as though something between them had been changing, turning into something softer and more caring. There had been love there before, but it had changed into a different kind. It lived in her chest like an ache, warm, and perfect. Hope wasn’t confident that it would work out, wasn’t sure that she would be able to be everything Josie wanted and needed her to be. She did know that she would try her absolute hardest going forward.

“Did you eat a real beignet while you were in the quarter? I know the best little patisserie and you haven’t truly ever lived until you’ve had one.” She spoke absently, enjoying the quiet of the late morning and the ease she felt with the other girl.

“I think you’re trying to keep avoiding making that phone call. We can get one beignet from every bakery in the quarter but first, we have to actually _get_ to New Orleans.” Josie slid Hope’s phone towards her across the island and nodded at her to go ahead.

“Sometimes I don’t appreciate how well you have me figured out, Josette Saltzman.” Hope complained as she picked it up with a defeated sigh. “It ruins my ‘mysterious and misunderstood’ vibe I’ve worked so hard on.”

“It is a gift and a curse, I must say.” Josie flicked her hair over one shoulder teasingly. She wasn’t going to admit she had put a lot of her time and effort into figuring Hope out over the years, mysterious vibes or none. She hadn’t spent years wishing to be Hope’s friend without being willing to put in the work as well. “You’re a layered one, but now that you’re actually willing to open up and talk to me now and then? We’re making strides.”

“Hope Mikaelson? Actually sharing her thoughts and feelings? Unheard of.” Hope adopted a poor imitation of a British accent to do and an even worse Emma Tig impression. Josie had the grace to laugh along anyway as Hope lifted the phone to her ear and nerves started to enter her expression.

“Hope Mikaelson? Making jokes? Absolute bollocks.” Josie joined in, hoping to bring her smile back.

“I can be funny.” Hope hissed right as she heard someone answer on the other end of the line. “Hey, it’s Hope. Can I talk to Aunt Freya?”

“No love for Auntie Keelin. I see how it is.” She heard the familiar voice laugh. “Freya is at Mommy and Me with Nik. Is there any way I could be of service?”

“Sorry, Aunt Keelin. I didn’t mean anything by it. A friend and I need to get out of town quickly. I was hoping we could hide out back home with you guys for a while. Would that be okay?” the nerves returned to Hope’s voice as she asked, biting her lip as she looked at Josie.

“I couldn’t imagine why it wouldn’t be okay, as long as your friend has permission to be here. I know we would all be glad to see you. I’ll let Freya know as soon as she’s home and we can make arrangements for a flight or something. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.” Keelin’s voice was concerned but full of affection as well. Hope hadn’t realized how much she had missed the other woman until she heard it and felt a knot form in her throat that she couldn’t quite swallow.

“Yeah, thank you, Keelin. Talk to you soon.” Hope spoke around it, her voice breaking, and hung up. She turned to Josie. “That was my Aunt Freya’s wife. She said she would get back to us with how we’re going to get down there as soon as Freya is back from Mommy and Me with my cousin.”

“One of the most powerful witches in the world at Mommy and Me with a baby named after The Great Evil. Wonders never cease.”

“Yeah, call me Great Evil Junior.”


	6. Chapter 6

Freya texted back a couple of hours later with an apology for not being there to answer Hope’s call and followed up with the address of a storage unit that apparently contained one of the old family cars. She forewarned that it hadn’t been used in a while and might need gas etcetera. Hope had been hoping for a plane ticket or the like, but Josie seemed to be excited at the prospect of a road trip. Hope got the feeling Josie might be a bit nervous about being formally introduced to the Mikaelson family and decided to look at the brighter side as well. 

“I didn’t know that you knew how to drive, Hope.” Josie commented as they sat pinched close together on the bus crossing town to the one Mystic Falls Self-Storage Center. Hope had found the keys to their space and the car in the drawer Freya had told her to check and now clenched them in her hand. 

“My Uncle Elijah taught me when we came to have the Hollow taken out of me. He was trying to keep me calm and thought the distraction would help. Instead, I ended up blowing the windows out of a townie kid’s car.” She chuckled darkly. Those had been dark, angry, and painful days; but she looked back on that particular memory a bit more fondly now. She couldn’t remember spending any other large amount of time with Elijah before then. “I had a few other lessons with my mom’s boyfriend Declan before then, and a few with your dad after.”

Hope started to see a trend with the tutors in question and her mind took a dark turn. Josie noticed and changed the subject. “Tell me more about your cousin Nik. Freya mentioned him while I was down there the last time and I got the feeling there was a story to her relationship with Keelin before he came along.” Josie had pieced together parts since then, but she wanted to hear Hope’s version and could tell from the look on her face that it would serve as a good distraction.

The more of the story that Hope told, the brighter her expression got and the less tension existed in her shoulders. She skimmed over the sad parts and the painful parts, focusing on her father dancing with her, Kol’s speech, and her first experiences with a bit too much champagne. Hope told Josie as much as she remembered of Keelin and Freya’s arguments over having a child and their decision to ask Vincent to be the donor. He had been hard to convince. Hope even confessed to her gladness at not being the youngest Mikaelson anymore, though being the baby of the family had certainly come with perks.

By the time Hope had finished telling Josie about all she could think of and answering all of her questions, they had finished the bus ride and the walk to the storage facility. Virginian sun beat down on the concrete and glared off of the tin roofs as they searched for the correct unit.

“I think this is it, bring the keys over?” Josie requested as she found the correct number emblazoned on the bright orange garage door. Hope complied quickly, unlocked the padlock, and hefted the door open to reveal a covered car in a locker packed high with banker’s boxes of old journals, suits of armor standing in corners, and ancient furniture pieces. Everything held an air of gravity and importance that came with having once belonged to the original vampire family.

“This is definitely it.” Hope agreed with a heavy sigh and a pained look in her eyes. She wanted desperately to go through it all with a fine-toothed comb but knew that they had to keep moving. She didn’t allow herself to give the boxes, chests, and other memorabilia a second glance; moving instead to pull the cover off of the car. “This will certainly do, though we can give up on keeping a low-profile.”

Josie chuckled. “Low profile is for people without super ancient, super-rich, super-powered families. Cars like these were made for road trips.”

It was low to the ground, red, convertible, and sporty. That was the extent of Hope’s knowledge of cars... except that this had been Kol Mikaelson’s. She doubted he would mind her borrowing it, but knew for a fact that everything about it screamed his name. Before Davina had come along and tamed him that is.

“I’m inclined to agree. I’ll pull it out if you would shut and lock everything up after me.” Hope slid into the driver’s seat and adjusted it to her much shorter stature, grinning up at Josie as a thrill of adrenaline shot through her. After a moment’s search through the glove compartment, she found a few sunglasses and headscarves in matching sets, likely pre-prepared and arranged by Rebekah at some point. Hope didn’t allow nostalgia to take her over as it loomed in the back of her mind, focusing on the tasks at hand instead, reminding herself of what she was doing and the multitude of reasons why. She would have time to reminisce and nurse the ache inside later.

“Radio is equally ancient, but if you can figure it out, be my guest.” Hope informed Josie as she hopped into the passenger’s seat and pulled her hair back to keep it from blowing everywhere in the wind as they started out with the top down. With a full tank and a destination in sight, she was beginning to feel a bit calmer, and less like she was scrambling for dear life.

“Gladly.” Josie agreed, still a bit in awe and shock, reality set in that she was leaving home once more. She laid a hand on Hope’s shoulder and spoke a spell beneath her breath that Hope didn’t quite catch. The dial on the stereo jumped to Josie’s bidding and began playing music that was calibrated to Josie’s exact tastes. 

“You’ll have to teach me that one.” Hope nodded, more impressed than she was inclined to let on.

“Lizzie and I cooked it up ourselves. We call it the Spotify spell. It creates a playlist tailored to the company we’re in and it saves lives. Trust me.” Josie chuckled as they started their trip south.


	7. Chapter 7

The wind whipped at the scarf keeping Hope’s hair out of her face as she drove. Josie’s music spell kept both girls thoroughly entertained, stopping to talk about music or just singing at the top of their lungs. Music worked to keep the sadness and the anxiety at bay as well. When she could see the quiet and the dark beginning to take over, Josie would reach for Hope’s hand or start asking questions to keep her present. On the rare occasions that it was Josie who began to shut down, Hope remembered what the other girl had said about doing what she would want Josie to do for her, and simply reached across the car to take Josie’s hand in her own. She wasn’t as good with her words, and it was the best she could think to do.

Josie was shaken from her thoughts, as a warm hand wrapped around her own. Hope’s eyes were still steadily focused on the road in front of her and Josie wondered if Hope had looked over at her or instinctively known the path her thoughts had taken. As Josie thought, Hope turned the music down.

“I was born in a church in New Orleans. My mom died giving birth to me, but my blood brought her back as a hybrid. Deeply fucked up, I know. My grandmother on the Mikaelson side stole me away before my mother even really got to hold me. Aunt Rebekah took me away and I stayed with her for a long time while my parents told everyone I had died. My first memories are of afternoon walks with her to the park after my naps. Sometimes I wonder if that was a sign that I was meant to live my life on the run like this. Meant to be hiding or to be hidden. That’s why the Salvatore School was built. Specifically for you and your sister, and even me. Everyone else is the icing on the cake.”

Josie could tell from the way Hope was speaking that these were thoughts she had been living with for a long time. She could tell this was what she thought about at night when it was hard to sleep. Josie had no idea of how to respond and squeezed Hope’s hand back.

“I’ve always known that I would let Lizzie win the Merge or that I would be turned into a heretic to prevent it from having to happen in the first place. I would have you or MG do it. You were the most likely to understand. What terrifies me, is that I don’t know whether Lizzie would be willing to do the same. I love her like she is half of me. She’s my twin sister. My first and best friend, but we can’t talk about that. We can’t make ourselves discuss the possibilities or solutions, so I have never known what she’s thinking or planning. Somehow, that doesn’t change anything for me. No matter what she’s thinking, it doesn’t matter. I’ll turn heretic or I’ll die. I just want her to live. Is that fucked up too?” Josie asked, turning to look at Hope’s stoic profile as she listened and processed.

Hope’s mind was churning again. A world without Josie in it was simply unacceptable. It was the reason she had been forced to pull Alaric’s heart from his chest instead of allowing Josie to continue to be threatened. It was why she had pulled the other girl from the place she had grown up and dragged her to Louisiana. There was a long, tense, and silent pause before Hope found it in herself to respond.

“I don’t know much, Josie, about anything. Everything I’ve done these past couple of days. All of the extremes I’ve gone to. I just want you to remember that they have all been in service of keeping you safe. It feels like this has all gone by in a flurry of panic and fear. I don’t want you to look back on these events one day and hate me for it.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Hope Mikaelson, I really think you might be the single most stupid person I have ever met in my life.” Josie’s voice was small and angry, but powerful. “If you think I am going to be mad at you for your best attempts at keeping me alive and safe, then I am rather certain that you have taken one too many hits to the head.”

“Right, yeah, sorry.” Hope immediately shut down and began to act as though she were fully focused on her driving. Guilt and the ache they both felt down deep showed plainly on Hope’s face. As her thoughts turned more and more introverted, Hope glanced back over at Josie, just briefly, before turning off the interstate to get gas. Josie was staring out the window at nothing and Hope could tell that she needed something, anything, to ground her back into reality. After a moment’s questioning, whether she ought to or not, Hope reached across the console and took Josie’s hand, beginning to slowly untangle her fingers from the fist they had balled into.

Josie made a small and surprised sound when Hope initially reached over to her hand and sighed quietly as their fingers were laced together. She visibly relaxed and sat back into her seat, eyelids a bit heavier than they were before; expression a bit gentler. Josie didn’t release her grip until Hope needed to change gears again. The music quietly began to change as Hope turned it down a little bit. The sun was shining gently on her face, Hope was beside her and keeping her company with conversation when she wanted it and quietly singing along when something particularly catchy came along and required it. Now, she hummed quietly to herself as she drove.

When Josie woke up, it was only because she very much needed to use the bathroom… like right then. She jolted awake with a short and sharp “Hope!”

“Yeah, what’s up, Jo?” Hope asked, “I have to use the bathroom too if that’s the problem.” She was already in the process of turning off to find a rest stop or a particularly clean gas station.

“Like right now, babe. Right now.” Josie said urgently, and Hope really had to refrain from laughing out loud as Josie had gone from dead asleep to sitting bolt upright and sinking her teeth into her lower lip. Her eyes were wide and suddenly alert and kind of pained.

“You got it, you got it.” Hope started to gun it just a little more as she whipped the car into the parking lot with a chuckle. “Do you want me to speed you in there or are you not quite that desperate?”

“Just do it...go ahead. I’ll clench. Go.” Josie choked out, just barely. Hope parked and threw on just a bit of her inherent werewolf speed to get Josie to the bathroom in a timely fashion. She ducked away as soon as she sat the girl down on the toilet and shut the door, leaving a fifty beside the register for repayment of the lock she had snapped.

Hope really did desperately have to go as well and zipped right on out to the closest thick brush area where she could use the bathroom without being seen. She felt as though she had been fast enough in returning to the rest station that Josie would have barely registered her absence. As soon as Josie exited, Hope went in to wash her hands and then accompanied Josie back to the car. “Do you want any snacks or anything? I know we got some good food back in Georgia but I’m running on empty. There’s a Chick-fil-A up the street.” Hope offered as Josie stretched her legs and she began to refill the car.

“Anything else, they hate my people.” Josie scoffed, eliciting a snort from Hope and a nod.

“Our people, and of course. It was a bad recommendation. Just the closest thing.” Hope hopped over the door into the seat and nudged Josie with her shoulder. “Whatever’s next then on this exit. It’ll be fun to find out, deal? …. Babe?” she asked teasingly.

“Listen... It’s not my usual go-to pet name, but I was in a _situation_.” Josie chuckled and rolled her eyes, a slight blush rising to her cheeks as Hope’s arm came to rest on the back of the passenger seat. Her mind did roil a bit over Hope’s comment of ‘our people’.

“Understandable. What would your preferred pet name be, then?” Hope asked.

“I don’t know. It depends on the person in question. Maybe you’ll find out one day.” Josie shrugged as though Hope didn’t take the sentence like a punch to the gut. She drove on past the chick-fil-a and on to whatever fast food was next, disgusted with herself but knowing that they should really keep moving.

“I think we have about another three hours before I’m too tired to drive anymore. We’ll find somewhere to stop for the night when we cross the next state line. I just want to get as much distance between us and Mystic Falls as possible.” Hope said once the food had been acquired and they were back on their way.

“Sounds good. Just make sure it isn’t definitely somewhere we’ll get murdered in the middle of the night.” Josie scoffed, “I will do my absolute best to stay awake for as long as possible. I make no promises though.”

She recast the spell to control the music and settled in for the remainder of their ride for the night. The music gradually grew more and more intense and raucous to keep them awake.


	9. Chapter 9

“Okay, you really need to stop. You’re going to fall asleep driving and that’s not allowed. Find the next hotel and stop. You gotta sleep.” Josie turned the music down and nudged Hope’s shoulder to get her attention.

“Right, right. That makes sense. It’s getting pretty late.” Hope murmured, and glanced at the phone on the dash, looking for the nearest hotel or motel where they could bed down for the night. “We need to shop a bit before heading off tomorrow. Get some food that won’t go bad now that we are far enough away and can afford to take a bit of time. I would love a pizza, to be honest.”

“Nice. First, let's get you some sleep. Hand me that Mikaelson black card. I’ll check us in while you get our bags.” Josie held out her hand and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll meet you with keys and help carry them in.”

Hope did as she was asked, barely suppressing a deep yawn before putting the top up on the car and locking it. She slung backpacks over her shoulders as Josie walked over to the little office and rapped her knuckles against the window to get the attention of the attendant.

“One room, double beds please,” Josie asked and set the card down on the counter, not releasing her fingers from it, just offering.

“Will anyone else be joining you, kid?” the grizzled thin, older man asked, his eyes haggard.

“It’s just me and I’m not a kid. Aren’t these places not supposed to ask questions?” Josie asked, putting on her best spoiled and rich affectation. “I just need a room, please.”

“We’re out of doubles. I think this one has been trashed the least. Be careful, kid.” he spoke with exhaustion in his voice. Josie refrained from rolling her eyes but was still quite irritated, her own tiredness getting the better of her.

“Thanks, I guess.” Josie allowed him to take the card as he ran it and traded her the keys before handing the card back, even more confused at the card usually only carried by the highest class of business-people in the possession of this very young woman. Josie turned on her heel and went to find Hope once more, feeling very anxious at being away from the tribrid for any amount of time. Lizzie had once told Hope Mikaelson that when in trouble, the safest place in the world was at her side, and Josie could really feel that now, especially lately.

The auburn-haired girl was leaning back against the suitcases, piled next to the office, and was dosing seated on the ground. Josie brushed some of Hope’s hair out of her face and extended a hand to help her to her feet. “Come on Hope, I got us a room.” Josie put a backpack over each shoulder and began to drag another suitcase behind her as Hope stood and grabbed the others, following Josie to their room.

She dropped the bags in front of the door as soon as they were inside, looking at the single queen bed.

“They said they were out of doubles, even after I did my best Dana impression. May she rest in… well, may she rest. So, this is what we’ve got. I’ll set the alarm for eight hours and get you up when you inevitably oversleep.” Josie chuckled as she sat on the edge of the bed and began to pull off her shoes. Hope simply flopped over onto the other side and curled into a ball, wrapping around one of the extras pillows with both arms. Josie moved to turn off the light and slid beneath the covers after pulling the tribrid’s shoes off and tucking her in as well. She made sure both of their phones were plugged in and turned over into her usual position, tucked against Hope’s side though the pillow now separated them, her hand falling to cover Josie’s as a yawn overtook her and the tiredness tugged her into the dark.

“G’night, Jose,” Hope mumbled, her hand turning over beneath Josie’s, not quite awake, but not asleep either.

“Night, Hope,” Josie replied and snuggled in a bit more tightly, threading their fingers together and allowing herself to finally fall asleep completely, their foreheads pressed together as they shared the pillow.

\-----/////-----

Josie wanted to throw the phone as hard as she could across the room when it went off. Hope’s hand tightened around her own, not wanting to let her go or let her move as Josie sat up. “You stay here and get a little more rest. I’ll grab breakfast and come right back,” she murmured, still bleary-eyed herself as she extricated herself and went to take a shower.

She had been so tired the night before that she hadn’t realized just how _grimy_ this motel was. The parts of her that had been raised by Caroline Forbes reeled in horror as she stepped into the bathroom. Josie came out clean but feeling worse for the experience. “I’ll grab some baby wipes while I’m at it… that was _unacceptable_.”

It was a short trip, Josie not being willing to leave Hope asleep and vulnerable in an unfamiliar area, and a 7-11 right across the street. She thought back to having slept in the same bed as Hope for the past three nights in a row, how easy it had felt, as though it were a completely natural progression, and how strange it would be to go back to sleeping alone. They would likely sleep at the Mikaelson compound tonight. In Josie’s imagination, it was a cold, dark, and grey place; devoid of life without Hope or her mother and father there anymore. She wondered if she would be able to get any sleep there at all until she had grown more accustomed to it.

Josie let herself back into the motel room, to find Hope taking up the entire bed now that she no longer had to share it. Auburn hair was a mess across the white sheets, her brow furrowed as she fought to hold on to sleep. Josie sat down beside Hope, putting the bags of food and other things she thought they might need on the foot of the bed.

“Rise and shine, Great Evil Junior. A few more hours of driving and we’ll be in New Orleans. We’ll pour over ancient grimoires by day and tour the cemeteries of older and greater witches by night. You’ve promised me the best food in the world and that the greatest, oldest witch in the world definitely isn’t holding a grudge against me.” Josie jostled Hope gently as she spoke, the older witch, blindly pawing at Josie as though to get her to hush, or pull her back into the bed so they could go to sleep again. “Come on, Mikaelson.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Get showered and ready. I have pizza like you wanted and other road snacks all ready to go. Up and at ‘em.” Josie grabbed Hope’s hands and pulled her halfway up.

“You keep calling me nicknames or by my last name. Your sister full-names me. What is y’alls problem with the name Hope?” She grumbled sleepily, a hint of the New Orleans accent slipping through the traditional and very proper Mikaelson manner of speaking.

“None of us have a problem with it. The Saltzman family just has a genetic predisposition towards giving you grief.” Josie shrugged and tossed Hope a hairbrush. “The entertainment value of your face journey and reactions are more than worth it.”

“Meanie,” Hope complained, but began to get ready for the day anyhow, a small smile on her face. She had never dreamed of something like this happening; out on the run with Josie Saltzman, sharing a bed every night, and growing closer than she had ever thought they might. Hope had spent so long avoiding other people and preventing herself from getting close to them; it had seemed unlikely she would ever be this comfortable with another person.

Hope had grown up running and hiding, lying about her identity, and then forgotten for so long she had almost given up on ever being remembered. If this was the great ordeal of being known, Hope wasn’t minding it so much. Especially if it were Josie who was knowing her. She wondered if she was gaining a greater understanding of Josie as well.

“You know, if this weren’t a stick shift older than both of us and more expensive than the entire school, I would let you take turns driving, but Uncle Kol would probably put my head on a spike for it. He’ll probably put my head on a spike for it anyway.” Hope chuckled darkly after they ate and started on the remainder of their drive.

“When we turned sixteen, Uncle Damon gave us his old car, but we haven’t really had much reason to use it. I can drive pretty well, but I haven’t had that much practice.” Josie shrugged. “Dad’s always busy with the school and doesn’t have time. Sometimes, during school breaks, we could convince Dorian or one of the other teachers.”

Hope hummed thoughtfully in response. “Maybe we can do something about that once we’re home. We’ll need to take our time recuperating and formulating a plan for going forward.” Hope sighed, her to-do list running through her mind.

“Hey, we’re going to be fine. It’s going to all get done and everything will be okay.” Josie did her best to sound reassuring, though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.

“Yeah, for sure, thanks, Jo.” Hope didn’t really feel changed, but she appreciated the effort and attempt. Josie watched Hope sigh and lean back into her seat as she drove. 

“Hey did you hear about Aly and AJ releasing an explicit version of ‘Potential Breakup Song’? I cannot believe they were willing to do that. Apparently, there was a whole Twitter campaign or something asking for it. I can’t believe it actually happened.” Josie changed the topic quickly in an attempt to distract Hope a little more.

“That’s insane. I remember their original music video when they were just kids playing between episodes of Suite Life on Deck. I only distantly remember it, but it happened.” Hope laughed quietly to herself at the idea.

“We should definitely look this up and listen to it, right? ” Josie asked, though she was already visibly looking it up on the burner phone. Hope couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face every time she saw Josie get excited about something.

“For sure. An absolute have to.” Hope agreed, just because she knew Josie really wanted to. She had not expected the song to strike her with such intense and immediate nostalgia.

Her smile grew as she listened to Josie happily singing along, and Hope found herself joining in because it was so catchy. Despite her pessimism, Hope did find her spirits beginning to raise. She relaxed for the remainder of the drive, chatting aimlessly and singing along occasionally.

The drive was much shorter in comparison to the day before; dusk had just begun to fall as Hope turned Kol’s car into a large compound, the large Mikaelson ‘M’ crest on a wrought iron gate. Josie could see Hope’s eyes brighten and tension shed off of her shoulders as the gates crashed closed behind her. Hope hefted the majority of the bags over her shoulders before leading Josie inside. There were large, old looking portraits on all of the walls, shelves full of books in every room, and decanted bourbon on every available counter space.

“I take it your family doesn’t have a candle budget.” Josie murmured as Hope led her up the stairs to the ‘living quarters’.

“My family doesn’t really _do_ any kind of budget.” Hope chuckled. “They also really don’t do any kind of moderation. My dad once bought out an entire bakery.”

Hope spoke of the memory fondly as they walked along a banister overlooking a large courtyard. In the dusk light it did appear dark as Josie had imagined, but warm and rich and beautifully maintained. Josie could imagine a young Hope growing up here, though the imagined picture wasn’t completely clear yet.

“Through here.” Hope led them through a hall into a room full of floor to ceiling bookshelves against the walls, a fire burning in the hearth, and a blonde woman with an angular face standing behind an old candle wax covered desk flipping through an ancient-looking parchment and leather book. Josie recognized her as Freya Mikaelson from her last trip to New Orleans and her heart dropped.

“Hope! You made it!” She set the book down and stepped around the desk to hug her niece. “Keelin just went to the nursery to put Nik down. Rebekah called with regrets that she wouldn’t be able to come. She and Marcel have decided to get married again, this time in Italy.”

“Tell her that I will miss her… and congratulations again.” Hope sounded exasperated but affectionate. She set her bags on a couch that was likely older than both girls put together and gestured for Josie to do the same.


	11. Chapter 11

“Hello, Mrs.Mikaelson. I feel like I owe you an apology for the things that happened the last time we met. I am very sorr…” Josie was interrupted when all of a sudden, Freya wrapped both arms around her and squeezed tightly. “Oh, okay.”

“I owe you my _thanks_ for restoring my memories of my only niece,” Freya said without letting go of Josie. “It is also truly impressive that a young witch of your caliber managed to put me on my ass like that.”

“Jo and I have gotten into a habit of saving one another over the past year. It is both incredibly useful and incredibly stressful. Amnesia, two mild comas, so many monsters…” Hope began to list off, extricating Josie from her aunt’s grasp.

“You got shot for me that one time, not including the multitude of monsters, you and Lizzie going to the 80s, and times you have saved the actual entire world,” Josie added, allowing Hope to thread one arm through her own. She leaned a bit into Hope’s side for additional comfort.

“What is going _on_ at that school of yours?!” Freya seemed startled and a bit angry.

“Give the girls a rest. They are obviously exhausted and can give you all of their explanations tomorrow once they have rested, my love.” Keelin entered the room, bringing the sense of safety and peace Hope always had associated with her.

Hope smiled brightly up at her. “Aunt Keelin, this is Josette Saltzman. Josie, this is Keelin Malraux.” She introduced them, apparently quite happy to see Josie meeting a small part of her family. Introducing one of her very favorite people to a group of her other very favorite people was a special kind of nerve-wracking and exciting.

“We have your room all set up for you and the guest room down the hall as well if it’s needed.” Freya raised her eyebrow knowingly, deciding to let her earlier line of questioning go until the next day. ”Just know that tomorrow is when the real work begins, so get all of the rest and recovery you possibly can.”

Hope let Josie decide for herself, handing her the bag and taking her own to her bedroom as Freya led Josie down the hall. She felt another rush of nostalgia as she opened the door to her childhood bedroom. Fresh sheets had been put on her bed and the shelves had been dusted, but beyond that, everything looked the same. The same twinkle lights hung over her bed, the same pictures were on the shelves, and the same dirty palette rested on the small table in front of her easel. Hope set her bags on the foot of the bed and collapsed beside them as her eyes started to fill with tears. All of the emotion she had put so much effort into suppressing seemed to flood back in all at once.

She hid her face in her hands and tried to breathe deeply as she curled into a ball, the scents of the Mikaelson home bringing back memories. She remembered so many arguments, one or both of her parents storming off, and beautiful family dinners.

“Hey, do you want to be alone, or do you want some company?” Josie asked, already changed into her pajamas, standing in the doorway looking soft and concerned. Hope only nodded in response, curling around her pillow again.

Josie curled into the bed as well, climbing over her to meld around Hope from behind, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her tight. She didn’t want Hope to ever feel as alone as she had before again. She didn’t want Hope to think she had to self-isolate when she was sad or in her feelings. Josie just also preferred to be near Hope in general as of late. Hope gripped Josie’s wrist and arm to hold tightly to her.

It took several long moments for Hope’s trembling to stop and Josie was already on the verge of falling asleep. 

“Go get a cup of water, brush your teeth, and wash your face Hope, then come back and get some sleep,” Josie mumbled sleepily, retrieving her arm from Hope and pushing up onto one arm and brushing dried tears off of Hope’s face and unsticking her hair, putting it back where it belonged.

Instead, Hope turned over so she was facing Josie. Her eyes were puffy and a somehow even more brilliant shade of blue than she usually sported. Looking at Hope, all of the emotions in her face, Josie felt her heart crack a little.

“You know, this all started with me trying to save you, rescue _you_. I don’t understand how that got so turned around, with you here… saving me. How are you always so _there_ for me?” Hope asked, lifting her hand to Josie’s face and gently cupping her cheek, running the pad of her thumb along her jaw gently.

“It’s easy for me,” Josie said quietly, as though she didn’t completely understand the question. “Just like it has always been easy for you to protect me.”

“Easy?” Hope asked, her brow furrowing as she leaned into the touch, eyes never leaving Josie’s. The difference, whatever had changed or shifted between them felt stronger now than ever.

“It’s always easy… when you care about someone, Hope. It comes naturally, like breathing.” Josie explained, her voice still barely above a whisper.

“I’ve always felt that way with you… ad with Landon, you know, before.” Hope took one of Josie’s hands and played with her fingers as she spoke. “You have always made things easier for me.” 

“You make everything easier for me too, Hope. You always have.” Josie squeezed Hope’s hand back and tilted her forehead until it touched Hope’s. “You haven't eaten since lunch. Are you hungry? Or do you just want to go to bed?”

“Here you are, still trying to take care of me.” Hope sighed heavily, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. “Come on, I’ll show you where we hide the good stuff.”

“Nothing that will get you into trouble, Hope,” Josie replied, a small smile pulling at her lips. “We did only just get here.”

“Like I would ever let that happen.” Hope scoffed and bread lightly, her heart caught in her chest. She _was_ hungry, but she couldn’t bring herself to move away from Josie just yet.

Josie gripped Hope’s hand and tugged her out of bed and onto the cold hardwood floor. “Food and then sleep.” She promised and pulled one of Hope’s cardigans on over her pajamas. Hope seemed to brighten a bit at the sight and joined Josie. Seeing her favorite Salvatore School person in her childhood bedroom was somehow both thrilling and terrifying.

Josie headed for the door, pulling lightly on Hope’s hand to bring her along. Sometimes, the power that constantly radiated off of Hope was so overwhelming that Josie would forget how physically short Hope actually was. It made her laugh occasionally. She put effort into keeping her chuckles to herself this time. Instead, Josie lifted Hope’s hand to her mouth and kissed the back of it. She refrained from kissing the scars of the bite marks along her arms like she found herself desperately wanting to.

Hope stopped in the doorway, forgetting how to breathe when Josie turned to look at her again. “I am an _idiot_.” Josie said, almost spitting the words out as she said them.

“I love you.” Hope said before Josie could. The words were rushed as she spoke them and her tongue tripped over the syllables, but it felt as though a ten-pound weight had been lifted off of her chest once they were out. “I should have told you a long time ago, but I was too frightened. I love you, Josie, and despite every awful, shitty thing that has brought us here, I need you to know that.”

“You know, despite everything… maybe in part _because_ of everything, I _do_ know that. You did a hard thing for me. Maybe the hardest thing you could ever do.” Josie stopped suddenly and sighed heavily. “I should have told you years ago, before Penelope even, that I have loved you… truly loved you since I was fifteen.” Josie rushed the words as well, not remembering a word of what she had once spent every night practicing to say.

“I guess telling one another wasn’t a race, was it? We could have taken our time and planned speeches or I could have kissed you senseless any of the hundred times I’ve wanted to in the past year. I don’t know… every moment felt right, every moment felt wrong.” Hope chuckled to herself and stepped closer to Josie. “Every moment with you feels _perfect_.”

Hope pushed up onto her tiptoes and buried her face in Josie’s neck, both arms looping around her. She took a nervous breath when, after a moment, Josie took a half step back and stared into her face. Bluegreen eyes were tired but happy; lined with the weight of all the expectations that were upon her. Josie had nothing but faith and love for Hope, though she knew everyone’s belief in her laid heavy on the Tribrid’s shoulders as well.

Josie ran her hands across the tops of Hope’s shoulders, Hope cupped her cheek, and the world seemed to freeze as they leaned into one another and finally kissed for the first time. It felt as though they had been waiting for this moment all their lives. Hope's smile was broad and bright as Josie pulled away this time.

“Perfect.” she said and allowed Hope to lead her to the kitchen, accompanied by the poorly stifled giggles of young women in love and much too exhausted.

Hope led Josie to a kitchen worthy of a five-star restaurant. The younger witch had to roll her eyes at the sight. She knew that any meals cooked in this place were likely made by someone under the influence of compulsion.

“I only know how to make one thing. How do you feel about grilled cheese?” Hope asked, blushing as she looked in cabinets and drawers for a skillet, feeling pretty bashful. The happiness from the kiss before still filled her up as though nothing could ever quench it.

“Grilled cheese would be fantastic. There really is not a better midnight snack in the whole world. ” Josie smiled and took a seat on a barstool, crossing her arms on the island and propping her chin against them, a small smile still on her face.

Josie watched Hope move around the kitchen, nervously fidgeting and putting ingredients together. Her expression was sleepy but pleased, and Josie took some amount of solace in that.

“My mom used to make grilled cheese and hot chocolate whenever I would wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night. I love to bake, but this is really all I can _cook_ , you know?” Hope snickered quietly to herself as she remembered Hayley trying to make the sandwiches and burning them almost every time. She would do her best to be quiet, but would always end up banging the pans and dishes and waking Hope’s grandmother.

Those nights were some of Hope’s favorite memories from her childhood, growing up whilst the rest of their family was trapped in the chambre de chasse to sit and wait, learning to paint, listening to her family chatting quietly as she did so. Freshly clean in her pajamas and yawning as she padded around the kitchen, Josie felt as though she were seeing Hope truly at peace for the first time. Josie decided that she liked seeing Hope like this and wished she would have been able to make the Salvatore School a more comfortable place for Hope; maybe she would have seen more of this side of the older girl if that had been the case.

Hope plopped a plate in front of Josie and one for herself as well.” This looks delicious, babe. Thanks.” Hope smiled broadly in response and took a bite of her own. Josie was surprised and proud. The cheese was perfectly melted and the bread was crisped on each side.

“So good. Fantastic.” Josie spoke through a full mouth. “Grilled cheese is even better in the middle of the night. God.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the real version of this chapter!!! please don't hurt me comments section, I'm just very tired


	12. Chapter 12

With a full stomach, Hope found herself even more exhausted as they started back off for her room Light rain had begun to patter into the courtyard as they passed it by with a multitude of varied tinkling pitter-patter sounds. Josie thought it quite beautiful and calming. Hope paused alongside her and slid her fingers between Josie’s overtop the damp banister railing. She allowed a bit of her weight to rest against Josie’s form.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Josie asked, threading her fingers through Hope’s long and loose hair. The sleepiness had begun to get to her as well, probably due in part to the sound of the rhythmic rain. 

“It really is. One of my favorite sounds… and my favorite lullaby growing up. It appears to be working on you… babe.” Hope chuckled, realizing that she now bore the weight they had previously been sharing.

“Are you ready for bed, baby?” Hope asked quietly, leaning into Josie’s hand in her hair, trailing up and down her scalp and the nape of her neck. Her voice was more tender and more vulnerable than anything Josie had ever out of the tribrid before. There were times when Josie remembered that there was only one tribrid in the world… one Hope Mikaelson, and never would be another.

“Very much so.” Josie replied, refraining from a giggle at how suddenly the roles had reversed. Josie realized quickly that she ought to have known the best way to get Hope to go to bed was to show how badly she wanted and needed to herself.

Hope was far more willing to take care of Josie than she ever would be to take care of herself… and that fact was true of Hope versus most people.

The tribrid began to lead Josie back to her bedroom with a bit more insistence than she had before. She had been acutely aware of her own exhaustion but neglected to consider Josie’s as well. She could have slapped herself for that.

“You don’t have to spend the night in my room, you know. Even with this change between us, the guest room is prepped and ready for you.” Hope made sure to mention. She didn’t want Josie to think that anything was expected of her, though she hoped the other girl understood her character better than that.

“If you don’t mind, I really would prefer to spend the night with you, in your room… not for anything besides sleep, of course, I’ve just gotten used to having you beside me, the last couple nights and I’m not ready to change that just yet.” Josie spoke quietly, another soft smile on her face as she looked at Hope, realizing that she had won in a manner of speaking. “If that's something you would be okay with.” she added.

“I think, I think I would prefer that as well.” Hope added, a bit of sleepy softness entering her expression.

“Good. Maybe you could tell me something about the things that have been weighing so heavily on your heart while you are at it. I hate seeing you so torn up, Hope, and I want to help. Maybe it would help if I… carried some of it for you.” Josie offered as they made it back to her room and laid down. Hope stared blankly up at the ceiling of her room.

Hope’s heart caught in her throat this time, arm brushing against Josie’s as they brushed their beside one another in tense but familiar silence, anticipating in nature beyond their usual nervousness. She grinned over at Josie more than once, finding it hard to keep her eyes to herself. Hope laid down flat in the middle of her childhood bed, doing her best to give Josie the option of asking her to move to one side or just crawl in as well. She would have sworn her heart skipped every other beat as she gave in and began to track the other young woman’s other movements.

Josie slid in on Hope’s right, laying on her right side so she could keep her eyes on Hope’s face. Her cheek pressed lightly into Hope’s shoulder. “Are you willing to talk now?” Josie asked, threading her fingers between Hope’s.

“I don’t know where I would even start.” Hope sighed, her voice barely above a whisper. Josie suppressed the heartache she felt on Hope’s behalf and all of the feelings that didn’t apply to the place they currently were with one another.

“I loved all of the stories you have told me over the past few days, about your childhood, your time in Malivore, and everything in between… could you tell me another story? Any from your multiple lifetimes’ worth.” Josie spoke in her gentle and cautious way, as though too harsh a word might break Hope. 

“I can do that.” Hope agreed and turned on her side as well, hesitantly meeting Joise’s gaze. She was glad that Josie seemed to want to take things slowly, especially when Hope still felt as though the ground were constantly shifting beneath her feet.

Hope took a moment to think, mentally reviewing the years past and looking for what Josie might find interesting or funny when she told the tale. She took the stories that led to her coming into the world into account as well.

“I kind of have a brother, did you know that? He’s kind of also my uncle but that’s beside the point.” Hope began to speak and watched as Josie’s face lit up and the younger woman moved to lay her head atop Hope’s shoulder. Josie liked how she could hear the vibrations from speaking echo in Hope’s chest as she spoke. She also appreciated her own near certainty that Hope had never told these stories to anyone but Josie, except maybe their former therapist, Emma Tig.


	13. Chapter 13

Hope finished her story and wondered at what point Josie had fallen asleep. Her even breathing, accompanied by the sound of the rain above were as good as any lullaby. She slept soundly through the night, one hand lightly clutching at Joise’s shirt as though she worried she might disappear in the night. Hope woke up in the exact same position the next morning, one arm underneath her pillow under her head, and the other around Josie.

Josie had woken up as well, a book from one of the shelves above Hope’s bed laid lightly against Hope’s side so Josie could read it without running the risk of waking Hope up.

“Good morning, beautiful. You always sleep so hard… I didn’t want to wake you, plus, it’s just damn comfortable here with you.” Josie smiled somewhat still sleepily at her. “I seem to remember you mentioning something about the two of us having beignets for breakfast.”

“My god, it is good to be home.” Hope looked down her chest at Josie, dark-blue eyes still filled with adoration and that sense of peace Josie had never seen in her before, at least not since the other girl had simply been a happy little girl. “It is especially good to be here next to you.”

Josie pushed herself up to one elbow and kissed Hope lightly on the lips. “It is everything, especially when I get to see you happy, and at least somewhat relaxed.” She sat up a bit taller and slid a bookmark into the page where she had left off.

“With the way I oversleep, you might want to keep that handy… I mean, if you intend to continue sleeping in here, that is.” Hope teased, sitting the rest of the way up as well. “If I remember correctly, Freya will have left tea on the warmer for us in the kitchen. Want to go get some before we head out for breakfast beignets?”

“It’s a good book and your collection is… eclectically wonderful. As to your question, just let me grab some clothes and meet you downstairs.” Josie sat up and put the book on the shelf where she had found it. She’d gotten a good, silent, chuckle out of seeing ancient grimoires tucked amongst the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books.

Hope gently kissed Josie’s forehead before standing in front of the closet, pulling off her shirt before reaching for something inside. Josie was too busy watching her to pay attention to her feet and very nearly fell, sliding out of the bed herself.

“Careful, now.” Hope called as Josie set herself to rights. Josie stuck her tongue out at Hope’s back before leaving the room, hearing the cocky smile in the tribrid’s voice.

Josie smiled to herself, walking back to the guest room. She kind of hated not having her own clothing to choose from; wanting to look a bit nicer for Hope to show her around New Orleans than what had been in the packs or what she’d been able to grab in gas stations and dollar stores.

Josie was profoundly touched to find that a dress had been left on her guest-room bed, along with a sticky-note from Keelin. It was a soft yellow color with a pleated skirt, very much in Joise’s usual style. She resolved to give Keelin her most avid thanks later. She also had to ask, or be doomed to wonder, how they had known her sizes nearly perfectly. Josie had bought dresses for herself that didn’t fit as well.

Looking into the full length mirror on the boudoir Josie gave a spin, just to see the skirt move. This would be suitable for going out on the arm of Hope Mikaelson. Though Hope was a fan of shirts and jeans, Josie had always been impressed with how high class everything looked on Hope. She headed downstairs towards where she distantly remembered the kitchen and dining room being. The look on Hope’s face as she caught sight of Josie made all of the younger witch’s blood rush to her cheeks.

“Where did _that_ come from?” Hope asked, swallowing a mouthful of hot coffee much too quickly.

“I went through some of Rebekah’s things that she had never worn and Freya did something weird with a loose strand of your hair she found to make it fit right? None of the magic stuff has ever made sense to me.” Keelin spoke from the other end of the long table in a pair of scrubs with her hair tied back. Josie figured she was on her way out to work.

“I think you… might have married into the wrong family, then. I do really love this. Thank you, all of you.” Josie did her best to be polite as she continued to happily swish the skirt around. “Thank you for letting me stay here as well. I know that it puts your family at risk unnecessarily.”

“You stop with that nonsense. We’re the Mikaelsons. Whatever the Salvatore Schools possession problem is, we’ve likely faced worse and overcome it. You are welcome here, for as long as you need to stay.” Keeling tossed a bag over her shoulder before turning to leave. Hope, take your girlfriend out for breakfast already. If I can hear her stomach grumbling, you can too. Be back by twelve for research time with Freya and Nik.”

“Of course, Aunt Keelin. Have a great day and we’ll see you when you get home. Love you.” Hope poured two travel mugs, one of a breakfast tea and the other of a local coffee brew for herself. “What’s with the look?”

Hope asked as Josie simply continued to smile at her, much the same way as she had that morning.

“Seeing you here, with your family and actually kind of happy makes me happy. It’s a new, different side of you and I like it.” Josie answered the question as Hope handed her the tea.

“Thank you… I just wish there was something I could do to ease your heart a bit. I guess getting us breakfast could be a good start. The place we’re headed to has great vegetarian options.” Hope replied and Josie could see a bit of the usual weight of the world find its place on her shoulder.


End file.
